


Blue Sea Moon

by Cinnamon_Poetry



Series: Fódlan Calendar [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, also gosh darn it Dimitri i was trying to write fluff, and then before i could blink he had angsted for two pages in a row, but it is not the focus, it has a presence, my tragic son, please note that the Sylvain/Mercedes thing is very secondary, so strong yet so sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 16:29:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20603831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinnamon_Poetry/pseuds/Cinnamon_Poetry
Summary: There is both comfort and fear in patterns.Dimitri has a difficult time being objective about pregnancy.





	Blue Sea Moon

He tries not to let it show, but Dimitri is terrified of Byleth's pregnancy.

He knows her strength. He knows how skilled she is at healing herself and others, and how capable the healers around him are. Never in his life would he doubt the skill of Mercedes, or Manuela, or any of their colleagues.

But the fear he feels doesn't listen to reason. His own mother died because she gave birth to him, and never fully recovered; it was all too easy for an illness to swoop in and steal her away. Byleth's mother died in childbirth, leaving a grieving Jeralt who fled his home in an attempt to protect his daughter.

If Byleth dies - _if she leaves him again_ \- he won't survive. His world would fall into darkness. Even approaching the thought in his head is enough to almost paralyze him.

As usual, Byleth draws him back from despair.

She's almost unbelievably logical; where Dimitri lets himself get consumed by his feelings, good or bad, Byleth simply accepts and moves on. He shares his fears with her, and she is quiet, mulling over his thoughts in her head.

When at last she speaks, he expects her to dismiss his fears as irrational. Instead she does the opposite. It makes sense, she says, why he would feel that way. Of course he'll be scared of something that up until now has only been negative for him. Of course something this new and momentous would cause him to feel unsure.

Her continuing acceptance - which he really should expect by now - changes him. Once again she calms the storm brewing in his mind, and shows him that it is possible to get ashore.

She smiles, and promises him that she will be very careful. She will speak with their healers, and arrange for regular meetings to make sure everything is okay. And when it is time, she'll personally invite Mercedes to Fhirdiad, just to be safe.

Dimitri has no words. He embraces her, tightly - if carefully, now - and never wants to let go.

~~~~~~~~~~

In the end, all his worrying is for naught.

Byleth shakes him awake in the small hours of the morning, telling him in a strained voice to please fetch someone from the healers’ quarters. It takes him a moment, but then he's up and alarmingly awake. He hurriedly finds his clothes, but forgets his eye-patch. He takes the time to give her an encouraging caress and presses a kiss to her temple before he leaves.

A while later finds him confined to another wing of the castle. He knows that he'd just be in the way if he was there, but it's so hard. His wife, his queen, his beloved is in pain, and he can do _nothing_. Nothing but prowl, round and round the same rooms, his mind attempting to eat itself alive.

Around him the castle begins to wake up. The news spreads like wildfire, from the castle to the city and beyond. In the visitor's wing, Sylvain wakes to find his wife gone; Mercedes has left a note, simply saying _it's time_. He dresses, and then sets out to find his king. He remembers what it felt like, the seemingly endless waiting. His Neurotic Majesty must be beside himself, and Sylvain knows just what to do.

He finds Dimitri, and sits him down. He gets him a glass of water, and tells him to stay put, because Sylvain is going to find them both breakfast. When Dimitri immediately puts on a mutinous expression, Sylvain simply tells him to think of it like a battle; he has to be patient, and calm, and make sure to stock up on energy now so that when he needs it he'll be ready. Then he leaves, with a smirk and a wink, promising to be back in just a second with a plate full of food.

Dimitri thinks he may just vomit if he tries to eat anything.

But damn if Sylvain hasn't already helped, because funnily enough thinking of the situation like a battle works. It immediately helps him prioritize; focus on the task, keep a level head, and conserve your energy. By the time Sylvain comes back - with, as he promised, a tray filled with food - Dimitri can at least think like a human being again. Sylvain sets the tray down, and regards him before sitting.

"Hmm. At least you look more like a king now, and not a child that's been told to go to bed," he grins, and Dimitri just huffs.

"Rude."

~~~~~~~~~~

It is only an hour later when a knock is heard at the door. Sylvain immediately pauses his story as Dimitri jumps to his feet.

Mercedes steps through the door, smiling. _Her Grace requests her husband’s presence_, she says, her eyes twinkling.

Dimitri is out of the room before she can take another breath. Sylvain walks up to his wife and holds her close, resigned to having to wait a few more hours before he can see his teacher again. Neither of them wants to intrude; they know what this moment is like.

Nothing could have prepared Dimitri for what he sees. His focus for the past almost-year has only been on Byleth; her health, her survival, her happiness, her comfort. The penny never dropped that they now have a _child_. He’s thought only on what could go wrong, and not been able to consider an after, not daring to hope.

But that’s his wife, tired but happy, and that is their child, bundled up and held close. His lungs don’t feel strong enough; it’s both hard to see and impossible to look away. And then Byleth looks up, and he’s drawn closer until he’s sitting beside her, reaching out a hand.

He slips his fingers through her hair, and the feel of it grounds him; he’s here, she’s here. It’s okay. Without a word she adjusts, until she’s comfortable in his embrace, their child held between them.

For a long while, they don’t say anything. The only sound is breathing, birdsong, and the ever-present low mumble of a city outside the castle walls.

Eventually, Byleth stirs. She turns her gaze upwards at her husband. Dimitri thinks he might have been crying a bit; it’s difficult to tell.

“Do you think Jeralt would work? For a name, I mean,” she asks, and he can only choke out a laugh.


End file.
